Joel 2:1-32 NIV
An Army of Locusts
1Blow
the trumpet in Zion;
sound
the alarm on My Holy Hill.
Let all
who live in the land tremble,
for the
Day of the Lord is coming.
It is
close at hand—
2a day
of darkness and gloom,
a day
of clouds and blackness.
Like
dawn spreading across the mountains
a large
and mighty army comes,
such as
never was in ancient times
nor
ever will be in ages to come.
3Before
them fire devours,
behind
them a flame blazes.
Before
them the land is like the Garden of Eden,
behind
them, a desert waste—
nothing
escapes them.
4They
have the appearance of horses;
they
gallop along like cavalry.
5With a
noise like that of chariots
they
leap over the mountaintops,
like a
crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a
mighty army drawn up for battle.
6At the
sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every
face turns pale.
7They
charge like warriors;
they
scale walls like soldiers.
They
all march in line,
not
swerving from their course.
8They do
not jostle each other;
each
marches straight ahead.
They
plunge through defenses
without
breaking ranks.
9They
rush upon the city;
they
run along the wall.
They
climb into the houses;
like
thieves they enter through the windows.
10Before
them the earth shakes,
the
heavens tremble,
the sun
and moon are darkened,
and the
stars no longer shine.
11The Lord thunders
at the
head of His Army;
His
forces are beyond number,
and
mighty is the army that obeys His Command.
The Day
of the Lord is great;
it is
dreadful.
Who can
endure it?
Rend Your Heart
12“Even
now,” declares the Lord,
“return
to Me with all your heart,
with
fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13Rend
your heart
and not
your garments.
Return
to the Lord your God,
for He
is gracious and compassionate,
slow to
anger and abounding in love,
and He
relents from sending calamity.
14Who
knows? He may turn and relent
and
leave behind a blessing—
grain
offerings and drink offerings
for the Lord your God.
15Blow
the trumpet in Zion,
declare
a holy fast,
call a
sacred assembly.
16Gather
the people,
consecrate
the assembly;
bring
together the elders,
gather
the children,
those
nursing at the breast.
Let the
bridegroom leave his room
and the
bride her chamber.
17Let the
priests, who minister before the Lord,
weep
between the portico and the altar.
Let
them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
Do not
make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a
byword among the nations.
Why
should they say among the peoples,
‘Where
is their God?’ ”
The Lord’s Answer
18Then
the Lord was jealous for His Land
and
took pity on His people.
“I am
sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,
enough
to satisfy you fully;
never
again will I make you
an
object of scorn to the nations.
20“I will
drive the northern horde far from you,
pushing
it into a parched and barren land;
its
eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
and its
western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its
stench will go up;
its
smell will rise.”
Surely
He has done great things!
21Do not
be afraid, land of Judah;
be glad
and rejoice.
Surely
the Lord has done great things!
22Do not
be afraid, you wild animals,
for the
pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The
trees are bearing their fruit;
the fig
tree and the vine yield their riches.
23Be
glad, people of Zion,
rejoice
in the Lord your God,
for He
has given you the autumn rains
because
He is faithful.
He
sends you abundant showers,
both
autumn and spring rains, as before.
24The
threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the
vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25“I will
repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the
great locust and the young locust,
My
great army that I sent among you.
26You
will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you
will praise the Name of the Lord your God,
Who has
worked wonders for you;
never
again will My people be shamed.
27Then
you will know that I am in Israel,
that I
am the Lord your God,
and
that there is no other;
never
again will My people be shamed.
The Day of the Lord
28“And afterward,
I will pour out My Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29Even on My servants, both men and women,
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful Day
of the Lord.
32And everyone who calls
on the Name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
whom the Lord calls.
In this chapter a
further account is given of the judgment of the locusts and caterpillars, or of
those who are designed by them, Joel 2:1; the people of the Jews are called to
repentance, humiliation, and fasting, urged from the Grace and Goodness of God,
His jealousy and pity for His people, and the answer of prayer that might he
expected from Him upon this, even to the removal of the calamity, Joel 2:12.
Great prosperity of the Jews subsequent to their
return from the Babylonian captivity, Joel
2:21-27. Joel then makes an elegant transition to
the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Joel
2:28-30; for so these verses are explained by one of
the twelve apostles of Christ, Peter. See Acts
2:16-21.
And the chapter is
concluded with the judgments and desolations that should come upon the land of
Judea after this, for their rejection of Christ, though the remnant according
to the election of grace should be delivered and saved from the general
destruction, Joel
2:30. Prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, which was
shortly to follow the opening of the Gospel dispensation, Acts 2:31. Promises of safety to the faithful and penitent; promises
afterwards remarkably fulfilled to the Christians in their escape to Pella from
the desolating sword of the Roman army, Acts 2:32.
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